The Future That Was Not To Be
by Phoenix Aurorean
Summary: In one stroke, fate has been changed. The Infinity Stones have done what they do best: changed the galaxy; and across stars, a princess feels the ripple of fate destroyed. Beauty has lost her Beast, before she ever met him.
1. AN

I think it's important to note here that I love _Guardians of the Galaxy_ (hell, I've seen it _twice_). I love Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan and James Gunn. I have one complaint, and one complaint only for James Gunn: Ronan died.

Within the past five years, I've become a huge fan of the comics, and before that I was already a voracious reader. I've read stuff from Iron Man and X-Men to Adam Warlock and the Guardians of the Galaxy. So I'm no stranger to the characters in the movie. When the comics first introduced Ronan, he pretty much was the same as in the movie: ruthless, zealous, and hungry for Kree justice. When he was defeated by the Fantastic Four, he returned to the Kree homeworld of Hala only to be disgraced and banished; after which he set himself on a quest to reclaim his lost honor. Then he met Crystal, of the Inhumans, a splinter race of humans that Kree scientists had "perfected" to become a race of veritable superhumans with marvelous gifts. Crystal was strong-willed, morally stubborn, fearless, and gifted with abilities similar to Storm of the X-Men. Crystal challenged Ronan like nothing he had ever come across before; challenged him-_made _him _want_ to be a better man. The two of them, Crystal and Ronan, reunited the Kree and Inhumans after centuries of misunderstanding and prejudice.

I have to admit, this story was in the back of my mind when I went to go see _Guardians_. I was thrilled with Lee Pace's performance as Ronan, and in him I saw as great an anti-hero as Tom Hiddleston's Loki. So I was shocked when the Guardians destroyed him with the Infinity Stone, instead of merely defeating him like Loki was in _Thor _and _The Avengers_. With one fell stroke, James Gunn made it impossible for one of my favorite Marvel storylines to ever manifest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This is a tribute to both _Guardians_ and that beloved lost story.

I give you the Future That Was Not To Be.

~Elizabeth


	2. The Future That Was Not To Be

Crystalia Amaquelin of the Inhuman Empire was always sure of her destiny. The Sight she had been gifted with at birth had always shown her the way, given her confidence and strength. But on this day, what the Sight showed her shook the foundations of her life to their very core.

She was alone in Attilan's High Gardens when the Sight suddenly opened up a window into both present and future. She saw Xandar, proud home of the Nova Corps, besieged and in places, in ruins. And amid those ruins stood four people, hands entwined, struggling but miraculously wielding one of the six Infinity Stones. Before them stood Ronan, the great Kree Accuser, his ship the Dark Aster behind him broken on Xandar's streets. She felt a tremor of fear at the mingled rage, hate and terror on his face, and then he was gone as the power of the four Stonewielders surged forward.

In that moment she felt a great pain in her chest, and as she pressed a hand to the pain to ease it the window of time shifted to show her another vision.

She was sitting in the Attilan High Gardens, as she was now, only her belly was swollen and round, clearly with child, and Ronan was sitting beside her, his arm around her, with an expression of abject and absolute love that contrasted starkly with the look of hate and rage she had seen before only moments ago. Then the Sight closed, and as the realization of what she had just seen dawned upon her, she was assailed by overwhelming tidal waves of pure, unadulterated grief. Bent nearly double under its weight, she wept and sobbed as she realized that the Sight had shown her that time had somehow changed from its predestined course. Ronan had been meant to find a second chance at life with her, was supposed to have been her husband, in due course of time; but by some cruel trick of the universe, fate had changed, dooming Ronan to die upon his path of rage and hate, without the gift of a second chance, and dooming her to live a life without him, alone.

She never knew how long she was there, weeping the very core of her soul away, when Medusa found her.

"Crystal! Darling sister, what in Randac's name is wrong?"

And at last she managed to cease her tears, enough to answer, "Everything."


End file.
